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Dwarf Planet

The little publisher with the BIG ideas.

Friday, June 5, 2015

Detroit AutoRama 2015: Remembering one crazy car and its creator

Last year I said that the craziest thing I saw at the 2014 AutoRama was probably this 1939 Chevy Master Deluxe created by Tom Carrigan of Vermontville, Michigan. Why was it crazy? Because he shoved a turbosupercharged V12 Allison V-1710 aircraft engine under the hood, that's why.

How big is a 1,710 cubic-inch (28.0 liters) engine? That's almost as much displacement as four big-block Corvette engines. The Allison V-1710 produces around 1,500 hp at takeoff and was the most commonly used engine for the twin-engined P-38 Lightning fighter of World War II fame.

Tom Carrigan passed away in November 2014. His family brought his car back to AutoRama this year. They've launched an effort to get it made into a Hot Wheels car:

I think it'd make a great Hot Wheels or maybe a plastic model car. This sort of hot-rod lunacy needs to be recognized.